Timbuktu and Beyond
its original purpose was protection against
sand, sun, and flies, for anyone who does not
wear it is called "mouth for flies."
The veil is never removed; it is said that
the Tuaregs could not recognize their nearest
friends and relatives without it. It is not even
taken off for eating, and consequently a special
spoon with a curved handle has been developed
in the region.
These people are despised by other Sudanese
groups, who call them "thieves, hyenas, and
the abandoned of God."
Such critics say that
theft with the Tuaregs is not only a natural
industry but might be considered a branch
of education.
Their religion is now chiefly a belief in
talismans, and wealthy Tuaregs wear around
their necks from 20 to 40 charms in tooled
leather cases of great beauty. They have a
caste system which is less elaborate than that
of India.
Their Sudanese enemies say of them,
"Nobles, serfs, and slaves they have, but nobil
ity none"; and for emphasis they add, "The
word of a Tuareg, like water fallen on the
sand, is never to be found again."
Once-proud Capital Now Airport
Some 200 miles down the Niger River from
Timbuktu is Gao (pronounced Gow), chiefly
important at the time of our visit as a French
military air base and a station on the air route
across the Sahara. Once it was the proud
capital of the powerful Songhai nation.
The ancient kings of the Songhai were great
potentates, ruling over thousands of Sudanese
subjects occupying a huge territory in the
region now known as the French Sudan. In
Gao these powerful kings were buried, and
their resting place has become a shrine, so
important to the Mohammedans of West Africa
that three visits there are the equivalent of one
pilgrimage to Mecca. The Songhai are still
considered an important tribe in the region,
but their former glory has passed.
The road to Gao was hardly a boulevard.
Our cars labored through rocky ruts and heavy
sand, and once we covered 65 yards in seven
hours-this in a sun temperature which we
were never able to record accurately because
our thermometer, exposed to the sun, was
capable of climbing only to 157°!
At Gao Mr. Boulton left us to make the
1,500-mile crossing of the Sahara to the Med
iterranean, a trip which we had been told was
not unduly difficult, but which developed into
the most hazardous and exhausting phase of
the entire expedition. The time which Mrs.
Straus, the patron of the expedition, was able
to spend with us had expired, so it was de-
cided that the route across the desert was the
most feasible way for her to reach Europe.
Loading three quarters of a ton of gasoline,
oil, water, repair parts, food, and baggage, in
addition to four persons, onto our small sedan,
they set out on this 1,500-mile journey, hun
dreds of miles of which were a stretch of abso
lutely barren desert where there was neither
human habitation nor drop of water.
Planks were carried to help the car through
deep sand, and there were places where it
could advance only the length of the planks
before sinking hub-deep again. Then would
come the strenuous task of getting it onto
the planks once more.
A Wild Dove Hitchhikes
While the party was passing through a par
ticularly difficult region where loose sand made
frequent stops necessary, a small wild dove
found the shelter of the car and followed it
for many hours, resting in the shadow of the
vehicle whenever it stopped. So weary was the
bird from its precarious travels in the desert
that it even welcomed human companionship
to the extent of coming to drink water from
the travelers' hands.
At Bidon Cinq (Tank Number Five), in the
middle of this barren stretch where there is no
blade of grass or tree or seldom a human being,
tanks of gasoline had been buried by the
French Government. There were two old
motorbus bodies placed here for shelter by
the trans-Sahara service. One solitary native
was employed to dole out the gasoline during
the months when cars were permitted through
this lonely spot.
While Mr. Boulton was crossing the Sahara,
I remained at Gao to record music and collect
birds and materials. The weaverbirds, taking
advantage of the acacias which had been
brought in and planted here by the French
along the river, inhabited these trees in huge
colonies. Their name connotes their habit of
weaving straws and grasses in and out, making
a firm home. Both male and female assist in
building this nest.
Gao is for the weaverbirds a sort of oasis
in the desert, because it is the only region for
many miles where they can find trees. Abdim
storks and spoonbills had also come to nest in
the acacias.
The Egrets' "Shadow Fishing"
Among the most interesting birds of Africa
are the tickbirds. They have learned that ticks
can be found not only on the hides of such
wild creatures as the rhinos and giraffes, but
also on ordinary cattle. The cattle seem to
welcome them. As do woodpeckers, tickbirds
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